Sharp and funny, scatological and sweary, these slices of life from Samantha Irby made me alternately laugh out loud and wince...
This quote, about "seSharp and funny, scatological and sweary, these slices of life from Samantha Irby made me alternately laugh out loud and wince...
This quote, about "self care" absolutely cracked me up - to the extent I've forced other people to read it, so why should you escape...
"I got a manicure a few days ago, which is a thing I rarely do because - we're all friends here - I don't give a fuck. But I was going to a party that night and you know how parties are, just a bunch of people standing around in sequined clothes scouring the room to make sure one another's cuticles are pushed the fuck back."
Witty as hell and also the Queen of TMI, it feels like she hold nothing - and I mean nothing - back.
Whip smart and hilarious and real - a tremendously entertaining and all-too-human book.
A deceptively simple tale with many layers to it - when a boy turns up at a cobbler's one night, filthy and starving, saying 'I was a rat!' - what shoA deceptively simple tale with many layers to it - when a boy turns up at a cobbler's one night, filthy and starving, saying 'I was a rat!' - what should Bob and Joan do? And when society (whipped up by the media and vested interests) turns against him, declares him a monster and threatens his very existence, what then?...more
Still loving this series - Kellen & Reichis & Ferrius Parfax are some of the best characters I've ever met between the pages of a book, and now they aStill loving this series - Kellen & Reichis & Ferrius Parfax are some of the best characters I've ever met between the pages of a book, and now they are (re)joined by Nephenia, once JanTep but now on the run, just like Kellen... Brilliant world-building, complex characters and a sophisticated approach to magic and the power it wields over others....more
A memoir that is raw, searingly honest and beautifully written, with flashes of understated, bone-dry humour. The author went through a turbulent decadA memoir that is raw, searingly honest and beautifully written, with flashes of understated, bone-dry humour. The author went through a turbulent decade while he grappled with - or failed to - mental health issues that were so severe he ended up homeless. Although the subject is difficult, the book is gripping and vivid and breathtakingly honest - a must-read....more
Absolutely stunning novel, fizzing with verve, scabrous wit and the darkest laughter. . if Bukowski was a woman, if Anais Nin had a heroin habit and aAbsolutely stunning novel, fizzing with verve, scabrous wit and the darkest laughter. . if Bukowski was a woman, if Anais Nin had a heroin habit and a semse of humour and was writing today, you would have something close to Problems. Seedy, filthy and buzzing with energy and laced with pitch-dark humour, the writing is scalpel sharp. Brilliant, bold and bawdy - a must-read....more
I really can't decide, on balance, whether I liked this book.
Loved: the dialogue (nobody writes dialogue like Roddy Doyle), the humour, the sense of pI really can't decide, on balance, whether I liked this book.
Loved: the dialogue (nobody writes dialogue like Roddy Doyle), the humour, the sense of place... Disliked: the mid-life moaning, the sourness about life...
But the ending upsets everything! It came out of nowhere, and upends all your expectations, and now I'm not sure how I feel.
But I think I like it more now than I did while reading it...hmmm....more
Rarely has loneliness been described in such a humorous, if deadpan, way; Eleanor works a Monday-to-Friday, 9-5 job, drinks 2 litres of vodka at the wRarely has loneliness been described in such a humorous, if deadpan, way; Eleanor works a Monday-to-Friday, 9-5 job, drinks 2 litres of vodka at the weekend and doesn't speak to another soul until she is back in work Monday morning. She is stoical about her own social awkwardness and exclusion for the most part; only occasionally does the curtain lift to reveal the raw pain behind her calm demeanour. This is a book I couldn't wait to get back to reading whenever I left it down - both laugh-out-loud and sob-inducing, it is a book I can't wait to put into the hands of everyone I meet. ...more
Like...if Love/Hate was set in Cork. Or maybe one of Elmore Leonard's books, with a darker, grittier feel...set in Cork. Brilliant, bold, off-the-charLike...if Love/Hate was set in Cork. Or maybe one of Elmore Leonard's books, with a darker, grittier feel...set in Cork. Brilliant, bold, off-the-charts, with a vein of the darkest humour threaded through it. I can't wait to meet these characters again in her new book, The Blood Miracles. Those that survived that is...you can draw your own comparisons to Game of Thrones here!...more
If you loved League of Extraordinary Gentleman - the graphic novel series, not the godawful film - then you'll really enjoy this. Smart, serpentine andIf you loved League of Extraordinary Gentleman - the graphic novel series, not the godawful film - then you'll really enjoy this. Smart, serpentine and darkly detailed, this is an alternate history of Dracula's arrival & survival in England - and his rise to domination and power. Wonderful stuff!...more
We all remember seeing the horrific images of the LAPD officers beating the unarmed Rodney King, guilty of driving whilst being black. When the officeWe all remember seeing the horrific images of the LAPD officers beating the unarmed Rodney King, guilty of driving whilst being black. When the officers were acquitted of assault with a deadly weapon and use of excessive force, it triggered six destructive days of rioting in Los Angeles.
This narrative spans that time using multiple voices in an effective daisy-chain structure, with each character taking up a chunk of time and sometimes overlapping with the other characters, sometimes not. All are interconnected, but often only in ways that you, the reader with oversight, can see, not the character themselves.
Like The Wire meets Visit from the Goon Squad, written by James Ellroy; this is a fast paced rush of a read with the city of Los Angeles at its heart....more
If you like George R R Martin, or better yet, Joe Abercrombie, you'll thoroughly enjoy this tale of Prince Jalan Kendeth, an avowed coward with a pencIf you like George R R Martin, or better yet, Joe Abercrombie, you'll thoroughly enjoy this tale of Prince Jalan Kendeth, an avowed coward with a penchant for wine, women and gaming who gets sucked into empire level politics and a battle of magics. Bound to him by a sorcery neither of them understand is Snorri ver Snagason, a massive Norse axeman who is set on a rescue/revenge mission in the icy wastes of the far North.
This is set in a 'sort of' Europe in the middle ages, I'd guess; but one that possesses magical wars carried on behind the scenes of ordinary politics, undead killers and powerful witches. Fast-paced, dark-humoured and gripping, I loved every minute of it, even if Prince Jal reminded me irresistibly of Rincewind, the Hero with a Thousand Backs......more
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